Bollywood seldom experiments, instead of replaying the boy-meets-girl love story till the audience is bored. It is why Looop Lapeta, a rare Netflix release, was such a buzzed-about picture.
Looop Lapeta is a remake of Tom Tykwer’s landmark 1998 German film Run Lola Run. Instead of plagiarising the original, the film aims to bring something unique to each scene.
Savi (Taapsee Pannu) races against the time to save the day when her sweetheart Satyajeet (Tahir Raj Bhasin) misplaces money belonging to a gangster Victor (Dibyendu Bhattacharya). An odd circle of dead ends has trapped her.
Script Analysis
Run Lola Run (or Lola rent in German) inspires this film. Vinay Chhawal, Ketan Pedgaonkar, Aakash Batia, and Arnav Nanduri’s masterstroke of densifying it with the mythical narrative of Savitri & Satyavan as the backdrop is one of the most remarkable changes I’ve seen in the history of adaptations and a terrific beginning point for Bollywood.
The story revolves around an ex-athlete who becomes locked in a time loop while attempting to save her boyfriend’s life after losing Rs 50,000 to a gangster. And the film’s aesthetics are where the film’s strength lies.
Within the initial five minutes of the movie, you’re taken to filmmaker Aakash Bhatia’s surreal universe, starting with a Goan song and capturing the highly saturated colors (courtesy of Run Lola Run) and streets of Goa like never before.
Furthermore, the fantastic, animated scene at the film’s start merits a special mention since it captivates you. It’s the next-gen for Indian cinema.
Star Performance
Taapsee and Tahir have outstanding performances in the film, but that’s not all. Every character in the movie performs an excellent job in their respective roles.
They have you hooked from the money-first jeweler Mamlesh Charan Chaddha, played by Rajendra Chawla, to his sons, Appu and Gappu, played by Manik Papneja and Raghav Raj Kakker.
Victor, portrayed by Dibyendu Bhattacharya, sensually massaging a Turkey is one of the film’s highlights, as is Julia and Jacob’s love tale, performed by Shreya Dhanwanthary and Sameer Kevin Roy.
When you learn that Taapsee’s father, Atul Borkar (K.C. Shankar), has a male companion, Yash (Varun Pande), the film doesn’t make a big fuss about it deserves some credit for that.
Direction
With the intent of raising the bar one level, this film follows Run Lola Run’s footsteps – primarily relying on on-camera work, background music, and editing.
It often takes hundreds of subtle changes to alter what seems to be a simple process, such as when she was debating what to do to save her partner in front of the mirror. Looop Lapeta is jam-packed with mini-gems for those of us who can’t get enough of them.
The Final Word
I continued watching Looop Lapeta since it was shot and edited in such a unique way. I enjoyed the film and found it to be entertaining. It’s a whole different viewing experience. What a thrilling rollercoaster of a film!